On The Line with Matt Striker

After previously interviewing former WWE Superstar Matt Striker in August, I caught up with one of the most brilliant minds in existence again to discuss all things music. From Rush to Motorhead, the music tastes of the WWE locker room to David Lee Roth, this interview must not be missed!

Alex Obert: First of all, I’d like to know about your history as a musician, what you play and how you were introduced to it.

Matt Striker: I grew up with three older sisters, as well as a couple of older aunts. By the time I was six or seven years old, I had been exposed to bands like Rush and Kiss and some early Billy Joel. I was getting hooked, just knowing what good music was. On the flipside, my grandfather was in the music business. He managed Perry Como. It was always records passing through the house and a lot of great sounds filled the house. As far as playing instruments, when I was fifteen, my friend Mateo taught me how to play a D chord on an acoustic guitar. I went home and I spent the next twelve hours in my basement making up different songs on the D chord. Put one finger down, pull one finger up, things of this nature.

Alex Obert: Have you officially been in any bands?

Matt Striker: Oh, yeah! In high school and college, it was always my friend Mateo and I. And then different drummers and different other people. I finally started teaching myself how to play the drums about ten years ago. So I’ll always be able to solve the problem of not being able to find a drummer. It was a few little bands that we were in.

Alex Obert: Do you feel that you’ll give more time to music now that WWE is in the past?

Matt Striker: Yeah. The thing about music with me though is that I have to be inspired. I need a muse. I have to have a desire to sit down behind a drum kit or pick up the guitar or do anything, as far as making music goes. When inspiration hits, now that I give it more time, of course I would expect it to be something that I could pay a little more time to.

Alex Obert: You mentioned in our last interview that your dad and you saw David Lee Roth when you were ten years old, what was that like?

Matt Striker: That was awesome because some people say, “Oh, that’s not very cool that you went to see David Lee Roth with your father!” But let me tell you man, it was awesome because I was young and I remember my dad took my sister, myself, and some strange woman. Now that I look back on it, I guess he must’ve used David Lee Roth to get himself some. When we went back to our seats, there were these young punks maybe in their teens or their twenties and I was like, “Hey! You’re in our seats!” And they ignored us. I was like, “Hey! You’re in our seats!” They ignored us. And I watched my father step up to four rowdy teenagers and said, “Listen, you’re in our seats. If you don’t move, I’m gonna move ya myself!” And I watched these four kids get up and walk away, and then we sat down. And my dad was the coolest person in the world.

Alex Obert: What was it like being a solo David Lee Roth show and not Van Halen?

Matt Striker: I had always been a Van Halen guy growing up as a kid. It was one of the first bands that I discovered on my own and I wasn’t introduced to them by an older sibling or something. When Van Halen broke up and Dave went on to do his solo stuff, I followed and purchased his solo records including Eat ‘Em And Smile and Skyscraper. He had guys like Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan and Gregg Bissonette in his band. And I thought that was cool. I knew all the solo stuff and of course, I knew all his Van Halen stuff. So to me, it was awesome to see Dave. I remember he was on a wire and he came out from the rafters of Madison Square Garden and shot all the way down to the stage, almost like how Shawn Michaels entered the ring for Wrestlemania that one time. That was pretty cool, that was the first time I ever saw that. So that was neat. But overall, it was great.

Alex Obert: What are your thoughts on Van Halen’s comeback?

Matt Striker: I saw the tour. I liked watching Rosie O’Donnell play bass. (laughs) And the only thing I really, really noticed was that the backup vocals were what was missing, that’s what Michael Anthony really brought to that band, besides being a real tight bassist. His backup vocals and his harmonies really accompanied those songs. But seeing Van Halen was great for me and seeing Dave interact was cool. And really having appreciation for Alex Van Halen as a drummer. That was great for the comeback because I don’t think he really gets the credit that he deserves of being a great drummer.

Alex Obert: You’ve said that your favorite band is Rush, how were you introduced to them?

Matt Striker: I was six years old and my older sister was six years older than me, she must have been twelve. She had a cassette of A Farewell to Kings. She put that on and I don’t know what it was, but the sounds entered my mind and the tones moved my energy. And I was hooked! As I got a little older, Moving Pictures came out and Rush was everywhere. All the cool kids listened to it. As I got older, I would move away from their commercial stuff and really dive into Caress of Steel and second side of 2112 and Permanent Waves side two. I think they contributed to making me a strange kid. But that’s how I was introduced to Rush, through my sister, Kori.

Alex Obert: What was it like the first time you saw Rush live?

Matt Striker: I cried! (laughs) I cried the way the girls scream and cry when they see The Beatles and Justin Bieber. I don’t know why! I was just so moved by seeing these three guys. And I remember, they didn’t walk out on stage, the stage went dark. And then when the lights came back up, there they were. The music hit and it was like, “Woah! I didn’t even get a chance to prepare! The girl just took all her clothes off and jumped into bed!” The sounds moved me, the lyrics moved me. Rush isn’t really a toe-tapping band. You’re not gonna get up and dance to Freewill. But something about the sound those guys make really resonates with whatever inner metronome we all have. So it was just amazing and I’ve seen them over a dozen times. And every time, I get emotional. And I kind of start to tear up a little bit.

Alex Obert: It’s nice to see them getting more mainstream recognition lately, first with Beyond The Lighted Stage, and then they finally got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year.

Matt Striker: I’m a little bit of a jealous person. When pro wrestling became mainstream with Hulk Hogan and stuff, I got a little jealous. I don’t need the kid next to me in class to know who Hulk Hogan is, that’s my thing! Same thing with Rush, all these Rush fans are now coming out of the woodworks. And they go, “Oh, I love Moving Pictures! Oh, Red Barchetta’s great!” I wanna know, “Where were you when Lessons and Tears was playing?” or “How are you for Madrigal or Cinderella Man?” I kind of am a little bit skeptical about the acceptance that Rush gets because I don’t think many people own Caress of Steel. You can’t say you’re a Rush fan. You can, but just cause you know Moving Pictures doesn’t really make you a Rush fan.

Alex Obert: Which other bands at the time were your own property?

Matt Striker: (laughs) I just really owned Rush, that was it. Van Halen had its commercial appeal. And also, growing up, I liked older people’s bands. I dug Dire Straits when I was nine. I liked Teddy Pendergrass when I was nine years old. And bands like The Main Ingredient, things like that that. My dad or my older sisters, their records came onto me. The only band I felt ownership of was Rush, really, because I felt like what other seven year old, eight year old knew who they were? I fumbled upon them and now all of a sudden, everyone loves them. So that’s my selfish answer.

Alex Obert: In regards to the Rush documentary, you mentioned last time wanting to look into the Lemmy documentary. Did you get a chance to see it yet?

Matt Striker: No. I’ve seen the Motorhead one, but I haven’t seen the one that was focused on Lemmy himself. My exposure to Motorhead came from my Aunt Sheri. I always dug just how driving they were. And I always chose Motorhead over AC/DC. That was pretty much how that worked for me. Growing up, you either dug Motorhead or you dug AC/DC. But when I got to WWE, it turns out that a few people that I really looked up to were big Motorhead fans. William Regal, Triple H, guys like that. So I got to meet Lemmy once backstage at a WWE event. He and Hunter were just talking in a hallway and all the wrestlers were walking past Lemmy and they had no idea who he was. It broke my damn heart. So I remember interrupting their conversation and I was a little scared that I was gonna offend Hunter, but at the same time, he knew that I was a fan. I said to Lemmy, “Hey man, I just wanna let you know, it’s really f’ing cool to meet you!” And Lemmy chuckled, we shook hands, and I just kept walking. And that was a very cool thing for me. I don’t think anyone else knew who the damn guy was! And they should all be put out to pasture for that.

Alex Obert: What do you think their reaction would be once they realize, “Oh, this is the guy that does Triple H’s theme!”?

Matt Striker: Then you’d watch everyone go into ass kissing mode because they would want to gain favor with Triple H. They’d say, “Oh man! Great to meet you! I really like uh…Ace of Spades!” They would just throw out whatever commercial Motorhead song they thought they knew. I just thought it was cool that Triple H saw the fanboy in me and almost thought it was cool how sheepishly I approached Lemmy to just shake the guy’s hand. And I mean it’s just so cool. That’s a musical icon. That’s a great treasure of the world, Lemmy should be.

Alex Obert: Do you have any other memories of meeting musicians backstage, such as during the Guest Host era?

Matt Striker: I got to meet the guys from Alter Bridge. They were hanging out with Edge and that was pretty cool. I’ve met George Thorogood through CM Punk. That was really neat. I think there’s a Chicago connection there. Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, got to meet them backstage at RAW. I dug that WWE, for a while, was using really cool musical guests, not just for Wrestlemania. So I would really dig when those people would come around because being a musician, I would watch their soundchecks. And I would just watch how they would finger a chord or how a drummer would hit a particular note somewhere. So I always really, really liked that sort of stuff. I also got to chill with Snoop Dogg in his personal dressing room, but I won’t get into much more! (laughs) But wink, wink, wink!

Alex Obert: When I interviewed Adam (Edge), he was telling me how he fondly remembers watching Motley Crue perform live on RAW and to see them soundcheck beforehand.

Matt Striker: Adam’s got a unique musical taste. As part of our unique friendship, we don’t really talk about wrestling, but we do talk about other things. And music is definitely on that list. He’s a big Pearl Jam guy too. And he’s a big Foo Fighters guy, that’s his band all day every day.

Alex Obert: And you told me last time that you were heartbroken when Geddy and Alex of Rush joined the Foo Fighters on stage.

Matt Striker: Yeah, he sent me a text to say that he was watching the Foos on stage. And then I think Ged and Alex came out to play YYZ with Dave Grohl. And Adam was texting me stuff like that and rubbing it in and telling me, “Oh, there’s Geddy Lee! I think he might even be taller than you! Just little, funny things like that. It was really cool cause the next time I saw Adam, the way he explained the story to me was like he brought me there with him with his words. That’s the friendship we had. He wanted to share it with me. He rubbed it in, just being a needling kind of buddy, but he also wanted to share how great that was. This is how Geddy was. And this is how Alex was. And I always thought that was really cool. I would’ve liked to have been there, but I just thought it was cool how he tried to bring me in through the story and the anecdotes.

Alex Obert: Aside from Adam, who in the locker room over the years has been apart of this social circle of strong music tastes?

Matt Striker: That’s a great question. There’s a lot of guys that I connected with on different levels of music. I remember when I first got to WWE, I wasn’t well-received. I was the new kid in school. And one of our first European tours, we all travel on a bus. Good guys travel on a luxury bus, bad guys travel on a luxury bus. I was on bad guys’ bus. And I remember Chavo Guerrero and Mark Henry were in the back and they had their phones, they were listening to music. They were listening to a lot of good seventies and early eighties disco music and house music. So I opened up a conversation with them about that. So guys like Chavo and Mark Henry were into that style. Teddy Long used to be a DJ on the air and I used to travel with him. Man, we would talk about soul music. I mean just some real good stuff such as Teddy Pendergrass, The Main Ingredient, The Platters. Guys like Big Daddy V would put that stuff on in the locker room and most of the young, white wrestlers would leave! (laughs) It would just be me, Mark Henry, Teddy Long, and Big Daddy V tappin’ our toes to some cool Rare Earth and stuff like that. William Regal is a big Motorhead fan, as well as a big Smiths and Morrissey fan. He and I talked about that a lot. We had a little bit of a side wager, how many different Smiths or Morrissey songs could I work into commentary for a William Regal match? I think I hit about sixteen of them and tried to make them all make sense, while not just saying names of albums or songs.

Kane, I know he likes Pink Floyd. Sometimes you’ll hear Delicate Sound of Thunder coming from his private, little locker room. Vince McMahon is a big AC/DC guy, very muchso. CM Punk is very, very into a lot of alternative music, bands like Minor Threat and those other hardcore bands. He doesn’t go far without his headphones on. He really identifies with that culture. I believe he brings Lars from Rancid backstage. He’s a really, really cool, down to earth dude. Christian listens to Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand, Justin Bieber, and Celine Dion. That’s the truth. Jericho and I always got along really well and again, it wasn’t about wrestling, it was about music. Jericho is a music trivia machine guy. He’s buddies with Mike Portnoy whose from Long Beach, New York, two towns over from me. He’s buddies with Eddie Trunk, and being a Long Island kid, Eddie Trunk’s voice is a staple. Out here on Long Island rock and roll radio and stuff like that, And Jericho likes Rush a lot. And he’s a big Beatles guy too. And not just I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Here Comes The Sun, side two of Abbey Road and Let It Be and things like that. That’s what Jericho and I really talked about. He’s also a hair metal guy. Saxon and Warrant and bands like that.

Alex Obert: Are you a Fozzy fan?

Matt Striker: I have heard a couple of Fozzy songs. I had just never really gone out and pursued their catalog. I find that a lot of their stuff with Chris’s fronting reminds me of early Maiden or early Judas Priest and stuff like that. I admire Chris for having the courage and the talent to go out there and forge a career outside of wrestling. Chris Jericho’s a talented guy, musically. And also with his podcast and his web show. Pretty much everything Chris Jericho does is successful. That’s a testament to Chris’s talent.

Alex Obert: I’ve said it several times before to people, I cannot recommend a live Fozzy show enough. He takes that energy and conditioning and cardio from wrestling and just goes crazy on stage.

Matt Striker: Yeah. He understands showmanship.

Alex Obert: Earlier you mentioned Eddie Trunk, are you going to try and attend That Metal Show this upcoming season, now that they are taping weekly in New York City?

Matt Striker: I didn’t know that they were actually. From what I understand, trying to see that show is like trying to see Saturday Night Live. It’s very, very difficult to try to get in. I’m sure I can make some phone calls and stuff. I like that show very much and I like the concept of the show. But as the show’s gone on, I think I realize that Eddie Trunk really steers that ship. Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, they bring the fandom to the show, but some of their leads and throws, as a television guy, it’s terrible! (laughs) You can tell they’re reading a prompter, their throws to the next segment aren’t very good. Whereas Eddie Trunk, he’s really just moving the show along. But I don’t see why I wouldn’t go. A lot of the times, they have people on though, “Alright, we have Vivian Campbell.”And how many people remember who Vivian Campbell is? Or “We’ve got Don Dokken.” A lot of people don’t remember who those people are and I think that’s a shame.

Alex Obert: Have you thought of your Strump the Trunk question?

Matt Striker: (laughs) It would probably be a Rush question. I’m sure I can come up with something. And then I can pull it from that girl’s box! (Beavis and Butthead laugh)

Alex Obert: Who do you hope to see on That Metal Show in the future?

Matt Striker: I mean honestly, it’s selfish, but I’d like to see Neil Peart. And I just want Neil by himself, without Ged and Alex. And I don’t wanna talk about the tragedies. I like how Neil Peart is. In a movie, he should be played by Tom Hanks. He’s just so engaging and just how he speaks, personally, I would love to see a guy like Neil Peart on that show one on one. David Lee Roth would be an interesting one. Maybe Dave and Ed together. I saw Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony together. Michael was very politically correct and didn’t wanna say too much negative. But I think Dave and Ed would be interesting. Guys that I wanna hear from. Mark Knopfler would be awesome on that show. Morrissey would be great on that show. Dave Matthews himself, if he’s sober, would be wonderful on that show. Those kind of musicians would be great. I know it’s a metal show, but I’d be interested to see how Chuck D and Scott Ian would be together on that show. Scott Ian grew up around the corner from me in Bayside Queens. So that has a cool little connection too.

Alex Obert: Tying into That Metal Show, something Eddie’s passionate about that I mentioned before, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Three of the big inductees this year are Kiss, Nirvana, and Hall & Oates. What are your thoughts on that?

Matt Striker: That’s all great stuff. Hall & Oates are fantastic. I mean really, really fantastic. Daryl Hall’s whole blue-eyed soul thing, he really fancies himself as the greatest soul singer in the world. But Hall & Oates will always remind me of my mom and she would always listen to those records. Ambrosia and Little River Band, good seventies and eighties sound with a groove to it. So Hall & Oates, they’re not rock and roll, but if it’s a music hall of fame, by all means, throw ’em in. Nirvana’s great. You couldn’t grow up in that time and not dig what they did. And it’s a testament to how talented Dave Grohl is because he can go there from the Foo Fighters and people would go, “Wait, you’re the drummer for Nirvana? Aren’t you the singer for the Foo Fighters?” As far as Kiss goes, I grew up on them. While they may not be virtuosos on their instruments, you can’t deny the fact that Dr. Love rocks today as much as it rocked back then. Their marketing is genius, but their music still stands up and I think that’s what’s important. Strip away all the BS, the music still stands up.

Alex Obert: Who do you think should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Matt Striker: How can Deep Purple not be in? They should be in there, if it’s a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, how is it rock and roll without Deep Purple? No offense to Hall & Oates, but put Deep Purple in before you put in a pop duo like Hall & Oates. Put in the Doobie Brothers, they rock. What is rock and roll? Are they going heavy rock, white rock, soft rock? There’s a lot of different subgenres to the genre.

Alex Obert: I feel Motorhead deserves a spot as well.

Matt Striker: If Motorhead’s not in, then again it goes back to what I said. Not picking on Hall & Oates, but Hall & Oates, get in line and just wait. Fuck, Lemmy should be standing there pissing on anything he wants. That’s Motorhead, they are rock and roll. They should be in before a lot of these different bands. Even before Rush, and I’m a big Rush guy. Put Motorhead in, man. That’s rock and roll. Is Judas Priest in?

Alex Obert: No, the only two metal bands in are Black Sabbath and Metallica.

Matt Striker: Sabbath, fine. But how do you put Metallica in and you don’t put in Priest and Maiden and Motorhead? Because without those bands, there would never be a Kill ‘Em All or a Ride The Lightning. That to me is how a hall of fame should work. You don’t put in person G if you don’t put in person A. Without person A, there never would have been person G. Chuck Berry’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there you go, now follow down the line and put all the people he’s influenced in.

Alex Obert: All this talk about musicians, I’m curious. Being that you were a child actor, which musicians do you feel would make good actors?

Matt Striker: David Lee Roth. Lemmy would be great, just on appearance alone. I think Neil Peart. Tony Iommi would be a wonderful villain. Geezer Butler would be a lovable grandfather in Home Alone 6. (laughs) There’s a lot, there’s a lot of guys that have just such charisma and such presence. Rob Halford would be wonderful on screen and I would put him in a Lifetime movie. I’d let him really express himself. So there’s a lot of musicians that would make great actors. And then there’s some musicians that would be awful. Charlie Watts, just sits there and keeps time. And bless his heart, he’s great at keeping time. There’s not an ounce of charisma out of that guy. (laughs)

Alex Obert: Another crossover, what would be your dream supergroup of wrestlers that play instruments?

Matt Striker: Well a lot of guys claim to play, and then when given the opportunity to play, “Oh, I forgot!” or “Oh, I haven’t played in so long!” A lot of guys, they talk a lot of game. There are a few people that are just tuning around on a guitar, a G chord, or maybe they know a C chord, and that’s really it. But I know CM Punk plays the saxophone. And I think that is always very cool. Elijah Burke, who isn’t with WWE anymore, he was an amazing pianist. He played piano in his church growing up as a kid. And anyone that’s played in church bands as a kid is good because man, that stuff is tight. I wouldn’t mind being on the drums. I don’t know how Edge’s guitar playing has improved since he has been retired, but when I first started to play with him, he was awful! Chris Jericho as the frontman is obvious. I’ll be on the kit, Punk will play sax, Jericho will be frontman. You know what’s interesting in the WWE, moreso than the wrestlers, the guys that work on the show, the lighting and the tech guys, those guys are the guys that I jammed with the most. Those guys are great, great ass musicians, man! They were just amazing and they were there doing the lighting or the smoke or pyro. There’s a couple of PAs that were learning how to play guitar too, which was always fun. We would sit on these buses and just break out the guitars and just jam. That was always fun.

Alex Obert: Here’s a new frontman for the band, it’s not Jericho, it’s Vince McMahon.

Matt Striker: Vince would do a lot of AC/DC. He would do a lot of posturing and kicking and punching. He’s very Henry Rollins-esque in his approach to being a frontman. But only if he wears leather assless chaps. Not for recreation though!

Alex Obert: If you have Vince fronting and CM Punk on saxophone, they would need to perform Stand Back.

Matt Striker: Oh, of course! It’s funny, when I was on commentary once, I don’t remember how the segue came up, but I started to break into my rendition of Stand Back live on RAW. And Vince came in my ear over the headset and you can just hear him laughing for a good thirty seconds and then said, “Knock that shit off!” (laughs) I would get away with the references no matter what because half the time, no one knew what I was talking about. There’s no way Vince McMahon or the executive producer of the television product in the truck was able to pick up on a reference I made. I used to go out there and make these independent hip hop references. I was very into guys like Slug, whose apart of Atmosphere or Brother Ali. And I would quote lyrics fully on the air on any show and then the feedback on the internet would be great. While Vince is catering to the nine year old kid, he forgets that there’s still a large population of people twelve and up that watch our product as well. You need to engage them as well. I was able to get away with a lot of stuff because I would cleverly veil my references.

Alex Obert: Do wrestlers react in a particular way when they watch their matches and hear you make these references?

Matt Striker: Yeah. It started with me throwing in a couple of Smiths and Morrissey references because I was a fan. And William Regal would come to me a couple of weeks later and went, “I was watching ECW and I heard you saying ‘You are the quarry’. Are you a Smiths fan?” “Yes, I am.” And that’s where our relationship would link in and we would play the game. Every time he would wrestle, “I can’t wait to go home and watch what you said,”, with a smile. And a few of the guys that aren’t there anymore, Vance Archer (Lance Hoyt) would always dig references that I would make. If I knew a wrestler who was into a band, guys like Curtis Axel, I would always go out of my way to quote country. I would quote David Allan Coe and Toby Keith and Willie Nelson. I did that during his matches and he would appreciate that. I’d make it genre-specific to what the wrestler’s personal interest was. It was almost my way of talking to them in code through their match.

Alex Obert: We talked earlier about wrestlers being musicians, have you heard the Hulk Hogan and Metallica rumor?

Matt Striker: Oh no, what rumor is this?

Alex Obert: Hulk Hogan claimed that he auditioned for the bassist role of Metallica and Lars completely denied it in an interview.

Matt Striker: I know he used to play bass in a bar as a young man. If that’s the case, then I auditioned for Metallica too. Maybe he did audition for Metallica. But I’m sure Lars would remember Hulk Hogan coming in to play bass. (laughs)

Alex Obert: I’m going to wrap up with a speed round, I’ll ask you various questions and answer what comes to mind.

Matt Striker: Okay.

Alex Obert: Favorite album cover?

Matt Striker: Rush’s Fly By Night. The big owl on the cover is awesome.

Alex Obert: What do you feel is the most iconic rock song?

Matt Striker: There’s just so many, it depends. I like Queen, Queen has a lot of those like We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions. Everyone gets on that. But Ace of Spades is good and a lot of good Iron Maiden shit is good. You can’t just say one as a rock song.

Alex Obert: Musician you wish you went to high school with.

Matt Striker: Neil Peart. There was just something about how aloof he is that I just am drawn to. I feel like Neil and I would have hung out and smoked pot behind the gym. (laughs)

Alex Obert: First song you learned on guitar.

Matt Striker: I think it was a part of 2112 called Discovery. There’s a little finger picking part where he finds the guitar and he goes to present it to the Elders.

Alex Obert: Favorite guitar riff?

Matt Striker: I really, really dig on the album Animals by Pink Floyd. There’s a sweet little tasty solo that David Gilmour does. I don’t talk a lot about Pink Floyd, and I don’t curse much. Fuck! If David Gilmour and Roger Waters just don’t jump through the screen or the speakers at you. David Gilmour’s so tasty in his solos. I don’t know what song it is, but it’s off the Animals album. That one always gets me.

Alex Obert: Favorite Van Halen song?

Matt Striker: I love the entire Diver Down album. I love the entire Fair Warning album. Women and Children First. Those are my three main Van Halen albums. Most people would go to Van Halen, Van Halen II, and 1984. So I’ll say Little Guitars, Diver Down!

Alex Obert: And lastly, band you often try to introduce people to?

Matt Striker: I’ve given up! I’ve stopped. People always say, “Well, you like Rush.” And I say, “Oh, take a listen!” And they listen and they go, “Eh.” Like I said, Rush isn’t toe-tapping. And most people just receive music as tapping their toe. Really sit down and listen to the bass line, the drums tying in, the time signatures change. But I’ve stopped trying to put people on to bands. Nowadays, music is everywhere. If you’re gonna be listening to Miley Cyrus, God bless ya! If you don’t wanna take the time to seek out a band like Player or Ace or The Doobie Brothers, then that’s on you, man.

Alex Obert: In closing, do you have anything that you’d like to plug? Any websites or appearances coming up?

Matt Striker: Yeah man, I’m all over the place. I’ll be in Delaware this weekend for a seminar. I’ll be out in L.A. next weekend. Hit me up on my Twitter. I always love talking music. So feel free to converse with me as far as music goes. Maybe you guys will put me on to a new band. I just stumbled upon a band called Deer Tick that my ex-girlfriend put me onto. So we’ll see.

Alex Obert: Alright, well thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate the great interview!